The World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) is working to identify investment opportunities in targeted areas of Haiti.
It is assessing the agricultural investment landscape as part of a value chain assessment funded by the USAID Invest programme. This is a US government initiative to attract private capital and credit for small and medium sized enterprises across a number of countries, including Haiti.
Woccu is identifying the need for any financial, institutional or infrastructure upgrades along the value chain used to move Haiti’s agricultural products from the farm to the consumer. From this, the organisation will provide recommendations for development investment opportunities to address those needs.
“Currently, Haitian business and investment activities are heavily concentrated in Port-au-Prince,” said Megan O’Donnell, Woccu’s vice president of financial inclusion.
“Many actors active in the finance and investment space in Haiti do not operate outside the capital. Leveraging Woccu’s deep experience with working in remote and rural areas of Haiti, this work seeks to expand the reach of investment capital.”
A team of experts are working alongside Woccu’s two existing projects in Haiti – Home Ownership and Mortgage Expansion (Home) and Accessible Finance Activity (Finance Pour Tous).
The assessment, launched in June, will take around 10 weeks to complete. Woccu’s final report to USAID/Invest will identify a preliminary list of investment opportunities aimed at further mobilising private capital for development priorities in Haiti.
Working out of its office in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, Woccu has a long history of delivering successful assessments in agriculture, micro-finance and tourism through its Haiti Integrated Financing for Value Chains and Enterprises (Hifive) programme.
